


just a couple of birds with broken wings

by radiowrittenheart



Category: Penn Zero: Part-Time Hero
Genre: Angst, Bittersweet Ending, F/M, Fights, Gun Violence, Mild Language, Monsters, Most Dangerous World Imaginable, Oneshot, mwahahaha
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-22
Updated: 2016-05-22
Packaged: 2018-06-09 22:18:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,855
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6925582
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/radiowrittenheart/pseuds/radiowrittenheart
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The first night is always the hardest. Vonnie and Brock had no idea what they were getting into, but it seems that right from the beginning, nothing will ever be the same.</p><p>Needless to say, The Most Dangerous World Imaginable lives up to it's name.</p>
            </blockquote>





	just a couple of birds with broken wings

**Author's Note:**

> tbh i've had this idea on the back burner for a while now so whatever

They should have known that the first night would have been the hardest. But they didn’t expect this. Vonnie meant to save this for emergencies, but goddammit, her brain was going on fight or flight mode. And she was _ not  _ going to run from this.

Shapeshifters. There just had to be shapeshifters here. That was the only explanation of why two versions of her husband stood before her...

‘ _ Of course _ ,’ she told herself. ‘ _ This is the Most Dangerous World Imaginable. Why wouldn’t it have monsters?’ _

It started with her and Brock running, being cornered, getting lost, and she thought she lost him for good. But not so soon, no, no. She had found him … almost. Sort of. She always kept a pistol on her, hidden in her jacket. It’d probably be useless in a few weeks, but fuck it. Her hands were shaking as she cocked the gun, holding it back and forth. One of them was real, Vonnie knew that much.

But which one?

And … what if she shot the wrong one?

The thought loomed in her mind, and she swallowed hard.

One of them was Brock. She knew it. But they both looked, talked, acted just like him.

“Shut the hell up,” Vonnie practically growled. Her glasses were already broken, and she was bleeding from somewhere, but this was the new normal for her. “Both of you.”

One of them uttered her name. The one behind her.

Strike one. Her husband knew not to push her buttons.

“Prove it,” she spat. “Prove you’re Brock - and if you can’t, I’ll shoot both of your brains out,”

“No, you won’t,” the one in front of her said coolly.

Strike two. Brock definitely wasn’t sassy. Shit, what if they were both fakes? What if her husband was already dead? ‘ _ Keep it together, _ ’ Vonnie told herself, blinking back tears. She clutched the gun a little tighter, backing away ever-so-slightly to look at them both.

The one on the right edged closer. “Yvonne,”

Anyone could figure out her full name. But no one could say it that sweetly.

Vonnie lowered the pistol a little, but didn’t let stupid sentimentality get to her. She still kept it up, gaze never breaking from either of them. “It’s gonna take more than that, boys,” she said. “I’ve got six bullets. That’s more than enough. So start talking,”

They both began to blurt out things; simple, trivial things, but they all made her head spin.

Did shapeshifters steal memories? The two of them had distraught expressions, silently begging and convincing her not to shoot. It was one of them. Brock was  _ not  _ dead. He couldn’t be. He was in front of her, and Vonnie felt like the worst wife in the world for not being able to tell the difference. She racked her brain, trying to go over the statements each one of them said, weaving truth or lies - but they, it, whatever was good. It knew things. It was confusing her, and that was it’s job.

They each approached her as they spoke, one a little faster than the other, but she couldn’t keep track of which was which at this point.

One of them touched her.

She shivered, and maybe it was from the eerie black raindrops, or from the touch. Fingers stroked her cheek slowly and calloused fingers dared to cup her face gently. She almost fell apart, but instead, pointed the gun right under his chin.

“Remember the days you used to hate me?” he chuckled.

Strike three. Brock always knew the truth. And that wasn’t it.

A choking sob escaped Vonnie, and she let the other one approach further. Then, she started noticing differences. Sunshine blonde and dirty blonde. Average blue and blue, such a beautiful blue it wasn’t even real. The lack of muscle definition in the one touching her. Although, during her analysis, she stopped - and wrenched away.

“I never hated you, Brock,” she hissed, saying her husband’s name mockingly.

The revolting creatures in the Most Dangerous World Imaginable never knew what a gunshot was until now.

The one closest to her shrieked; a downright, disgusting and frightening shriek before the bullet struck them in the chest. Green liquid gushed out, one arm splayed out and veins popped. Vonnie didn’t even react, she just dropped the gun and let out the breath she had been holding this whole time. Finally, her eyes darted over, and she stared intensely at Brock.

“I’m sorry,” she choked out. “I - I should have known,” She stammered and stuttered before darting forward and diving into his arms. “Brock. Oh my god, Brock, _ it’s you _ .”

Someone spoke up from behind. “I wouldn’t get too comfortable,”

The all too familiar voice made Vonnie freeze, and she tried to wrangle herself out of the embrace, but found herself constricted. Her breathing hitched, so she kicked in response, trying to wrestle out. But her energy had turned into worry and she felt herself go limp, go weak … she was never weak. Until now. She was scared.

For her son, who was without her now. For the love of her life, wherever - whoever - he was right now. And for her very existence. Another version of Brock appeared in a blur, tackling them both and shoving Vonnie away. She groaned as she skidded across the rocky ground, and watched both versions wrestle. One was much more tattered than the other, and yet they both still pressed on in the fight.

“Stay away from my wife!”

“Don’t trust him, Von!”

“You touch her again and  _ I’ll tear you to pieces! _ ”

Vonnie had managed to retrieve her pistol, and stayed sitting on the ground. It was intense, watching both men, or perhaps both monsters wrestle.  They yelled anything to get her attention, but she was scared all over again. Just when she thought she had him, she lost him again - and … and it was too much.

How much longer was she going to be stuck here, on a hellish island?

One of them was pinned face-first into the ground, the other on top, perfectly pinning the double.

“Dammit, Yvonne, _ shoot! _ ” the one on top yelled, pinning his clone to the ground. “What are you waiting for?!”

“Why should I?!” Vonnie shrieked, her voice almost getting lost in the storm. “How do I know you’re my husband?”

A fist was thrown, a few grunts were heard, and still the same one kept his gaze stuck on her. “Galaxy World,”

Vonnie kept the gun firmly gripped in her hand, but not raised. “What about it?” she mumbled.

She took note that the other ones named places, but never events or times.

Blood, red and thick, spilled down the chin of the one talking to her. The other had green secretions. Nonetheless. She had never seen her husband this mad… Brock had a temper, but she had never seen him explode the way he was now. He was practically livid.

He had the other in a headlock, grunting out his words; “Remember? It’s where I proposed, c’mon, you know this.”

Vonnie’s hands were soaking with sweat, the pistol almost slipping out of his head. She couldn’t be sappy now. He could be making this up on the fly. She nodded slowly, beckoning him to continue. Whether or not he got it right was make it or break it. The other one just kept screaming her name, stupid and pathetic little attempts to hook her.

What if this was a diversion? A distraction to get her to lose, or worse?

“I thought I was gonna lose you, Von. We were slaughtering a bunch of alien hybrid things, and I told you I wanted to marry you, right then, right now. You thought I was crazy, but we both yelled for Wendy, and,” He let out something that sounded something like a laugh. “I don’t even know where she was. But by the end of it, we survived and—”

A loud swear escaped him when a punch was driven right into his gut, sending him onto his back.

It was him. No one else knew that story, not even their son. So why was she hesitating? Vonnie sat on the ground, frozen in shock, watching the tousle continue for a few more moments.

“Vonnie!” Brock yelled, his tone of voice shaking and desperate as he pinned down the clone again.

It was her husband. It was no imposter.

Vonnie screwed her eyes shut, and the deafening noise echoed through the deadly multiverse once again. The sickening squeals and shrieks were heard, and tears silently streamed down her cheeks. She didn’t open her eyes until she felt the very, very familiar embrace around her; burly, uneven arms, whiskers tickling her skin, the faint smell of sweet cologne … this was her husband. He wasn’t perfect. He was hers. And that was when she began to break, crying and shaking in his arms.

Brock shushed her, kissing her hairline. “Vonnie, it’s fine,” he murmured, brushing away the heavy tears that didn’t seem to stop. “If it had been me,” He trailed off, holding her even closer. “I’m just glad you’re safe,”

She was crying her heart out. His hero girl, broken. He never thought he’d see the day.

“That’s just it,” Vonnie said, her voice cracking on every word. “How are we going to last here?”

“Hey,” Brock whispered. “I’ve got you, and you have me. There is _ nothing _ that’s going to get past us,” He held his wife by the shoulders, gently pulling her away so they could meet each other’s gaze. “Because I’m not gonna lose you like I did back there.”

The cave was dark. They were scared - they couldn’t go back and they knew it. They were panicking. This was the first night and it was definitely going to be the hardest.

Brock began to manage a smile at her, but his expression fell when he hissed.

“Jesus Christ, is that acid rain?” he muttered, glancing at the sky; full of purple and green clouds. “The cave might not have been such a bad idea,”

Vonnie shrugged off her jacket, and they both got up - she had to tiptoe a little to keep it above both of their heads. It did very little to protect them, but better than nothing. They dashed across the rocky ground, her pistol and the quivering half-dead monster bodies forgotten, as they made it to the cave without getting scorched.

It seemed dead, which was good. Brock fumbled into his pocket, pulling out a lighter and flicking it to life to give them a view of the gloomy, eerie scenery. He sighed, keeping an arm protectively wrapped around Vonnie.

“It’s no white picket fence townhouse in the suburbs, but it’ll do for tonight,” he joked.

Brock tensed up a little when his wife clutched at him desperately, her tears staining his t-shirt.

“Love you,” he murmured.

“I love you too,” Vonnie sighed, holding him close.

This was the first night of many. Tonight’s intense match was the tip of the iceberg. All their years of teamwork as hero and sidekick never would have prepared them for this.

**Author's Note:**

> 1) yes Brock's proposal was a reference to that one scene from that pirates of the Caribbean movie  
> 2) I WANT THEM TO BE HAPPY SO I MAKE THEM SUFFER BECAUSE #LOGIC?!
> 
> comments are appreciated! :)


End file.
